Friends leave jobs and homes to craft beer

Friends leave jobs and homes to move to WNC where they've found a route to pursue their passion: craft beer

Erik Weber, left, and his friend Zach Horn at Oskar Blues, where part of the course is on-site instruction.

MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By Gary GlancyTimes-News Correspondent

Published: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 19, 2013 at 1:59 p.m.

Zach Horn and Erik Weber are examples of the opportunities the brewing industry has presented to Western North Carolina residents who are willing to go the extra mile.

Horn is from Memphis, Tenn., Weber from Erie, Pa., born one month apart and about to celebrate their 30th birthdays this spring. They met at a job as biologists for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in Weber's hometown after each graduated college. It was a particularly fateful move for Horn, who — free from commitment and seeking a new experience — had moved north and met his future wife, Nicole, and future best friend, Weber, at the job.

Weber and his wife, Maggie, moved to Fletcher four years ago after Maggie finished pharmacy school in Erie, despite having no employment lined up at the time. They moved for the quality of life, as did Horn and his wife, who left their jobs as high school biology teachers in Memphis to join their friends and start a new life with their son, Lincoln, who is about to turn 2.

Now, Horn and Weber live two miles apart and are chasing a career together in a field that has WNC abuzz — craft beer — with Weber having landed a job two weeks ago as assistant brewer at Oskar Blues.

"We moved here without a job or anything. We were fortunate enough to be able to save and buy a house," Horn said recently, between a pumps class with Weber at Blue Ridge Community College and a job interview at Sierra Nevada. "When I moved here, I applied for every (kind of work) because I didn't have a job. We moved here for the area, because we had visited Erik and Maggie probably 15 times from Memphis. My family thought we were a little crazy."

Risky, perhaps, but Horn and Weber developed a plan. Home-brewers and avid craft beer fans, they met Sierra Nevada representatives, including co-manager Brian Grossman, at Riverfest in Asheville last August.

They learned details of the company's future facility in Mills River and wanted to work for the brewery, though at the time they thought it was a pipe dream because they had no commercial brewing experience.

A few months later, BRCC announced the start of its Continuing Education Program's Craft Beer Academy to begin the process of training workers for jobs needed by Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada and other breweries in the region. One of the classes, the Oskar Blues Brew School, a partnership between the college and the Brevard brewery, combines classroom lectures and on-site learning at Oskar Blues to cover all aspects of the production process.

Before BRCC had even begun advertising the course, it received inquiries by the hundreds from several states, and so a first-come, first-serve online registration procedure was established in January to fill the 20-student quota for the first class.

Desperately and repeatedly clicking the refresh button on their respective computers once registration opened, Horn and Weber eventually were able to navigate through the process, and each grabbed one of the coveted 20 spots.

Suddenly, what seemed like a long shot, at best, to secure a job as a brewer began to look feasible.

"I think what made it a realistic possibility for anybody that's not already in the industry, or knows somebody that's in the industry, is the college, and classes like the Oskar Blues Brew School, because it allowed people that were working or that couldn't leave (the area) to go to a brewing school somewhere, or didn't have six, seven grand to spend, to take the course and get actual brewery hands-on experience, see how things work, make some connections and get the lecture portion of the class and take the (Institute of Brewing and Distilling certification) test," said Weber, father of a 2-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son.

"That's what did it for me. I had been looking at Siebel (Institute of Technology in Chicago) and (University of California, Davis), and I am a stay-at-home dad — or was — and so I couldn't just get up and go, so that was amazing when we got into the Blue Ridge course."

Weber took advantage of the opportunity.

After an interview with Oskar Blues head brewer Noah Tuttle and a phone interview with Oskar Blues' head brewer and production manager at the company's sister facility in Colorado, Tuttle offered Weber a job with a few weeks still remaining in the course.

"I was impressed by the enthusiasm Erik showed by not only enrolling in the Brew School but by also taking other classes that we recommended for students to take at the school that would be beneficial for working at a brewery," Tuttle said.

"He showed a lot of drive by applying with all the managers at the brewery and always following up and communicating in a professional way."

At the same time his buddy was getting hired by Oskar Blues, Horn, a middle school teacher in Buncombe County, was informed he had earned gold status in a lengthy aptitude test required by BRCC and Sierra Nevada for potential job applicants to interview for the Mills River brewery, which is also working closely with BRCC to develop a full degree program. That set the stage for Horn to apply for one of six brewer positions Sierra Nevada recently posted.

Like Weber, he is doing everything he can to land a job in the industry, and has now registered for a forklifting class at BRCC. And while Horn's wife still has not found a teaching job in WNC, she may soon find herself — at least temporarily — keeping busy in another line of work.

"We've got some decisions to make," said Weber, referring to the fact that he and his wife, a pharmacist at Rite Aid, are now working. He then added with a chuckle, "Zach's wife, I think, is going to be babysitting our children a lot."

Webber and Horn are showing that doors can open when you follow your passion.

<p>Zach Horn and Erik Weber are examples of the opportunities the brewing industry has presented to Western North Carolina residents who are willing to go the extra mile.</p><p>Horn is from Memphis, Tenn., Weber from Erie, Pa., born one month apart and about to celebrate their 30th birthdays this spring. They met at a job as biologists for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in Weber's hometown after each graduated college. It was a particularly fateful move for Horn, who — free from commitment and seeking a new experience — had moved north and met his future wife, Nicole, and future best friend, Weber, at the job.</p><p>Weber and his wife, Maggie, moved to Fletcher four years ago after Maggie finished pharmacy school in Erie, despite having no employment lined up at the time. They moved for the quality of life, as did Horn and his wife, who left their jobs as high school biology teachers in Memphis to join their friends and start a new life with their son, Lincoln, who is about to turn 2.</p><p>Now, Horn and Weber live two miles apart and are chasing a career together in a field that has WNC abuzz — craft beer — with Weber having landed a job two weeks ago as assistant brewer at Oskar Blues.</p><p>"We moved here without a job or anything. We were fortunate enough to be able to save and buy a house," Horn said recently, between a pumps class with Weber at Blue Ridge Community College and a job interview at Sierra Nevada. "When I moved here, I applied for every (kind of work) because I didn't have a job. We moved here for the area, because we had visited Erik and Maggie probably 15 times from Memphis. My family thought we were a little crazy."</p><p>Risky, perhaps, but Horn and Weber developed a plan. Home-brewers and avid craft beer fans, they met Sierra Nevada representatives, including co-manager Brian Grossman, at Riverfest in Asheville last August. </p><p>They learned details of the company's future facility in Mills River and wanted to work for the brewery, though at the time they thought it was a pipe dream because they had no commercial brewing experience.</p><p>A few months later, BRCC announced the start of its Continuing Education Program's Craft Beer Academy to begin the process of training workers for jobs needed by Oskar Blues, Sierra Nevada and other breweries in the region. One of the classes, the Oskar Blues Brew School, a partnership between the college and the Brevard brewery, combines classroom lectures and on-site learning at Oskar Blues to cover all aspects of the production process.</p><p>Before BRCC had even begun advertising the course, it received inquiries by the hundreds from several states, and so a first-come, first-serve online registration procedure was established in January to fill the 20-student quota for the first class. </p><p>Desperately and repeatedly clicking the refresh button on their respective computers once registration opened, Horn and Weber eventually were able to navigate through the process, and each grabbed one of the coveted 20 spots.</p><p>Suddenly, what seemed like a long shot, at best, to secure a job as a brewer began to look feasible.</p><p>"I think what made it a realistic possibility for anybody that's not already in the industry, or knows somebody that's in the industry, is the college, and classes like the Oskar Blues Brew School, because it allowed people that were working or that couldn't leave (the area) to go to a brewing school somewhere, or didn't have six, seven grand to spend, to take the course and get actual brewery hands-on experience, see how things work, make some connections and get the lecture portion of the class and take the (Institute of Brewing and Distilling certification) test," said Weber, father of a 2-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son. </p><p>"That's what did it for me. I had been looking at Siebel (Institute of Technology in Chicago) and (University of California, Davis), and I am a stay-at-home dad — or was — and so I couldn't just get up and go, so that was amazing when we got into the Blue Ridge course."</p><p>Weber took advantage of the opportunity. </p><p>After an interview with Oskar Blues head brewer Noah Tuttle and a phone interview with Oskar Blues' head brewer and production manager at the company's sister facility in Colorado, Tuttle offered Weber a job with a few weeks still remaining in the course.</p><p>"I was impressed by the enthusiasm Erik showed by not only enrolling in the Brew School but by also taking other classes that we recommended for students to take at the school that would be beneficial for working at a brewery," Tuttle said. </p><p>"He showed a lot of drive by applying with all the managers at the brewery and always following up and communicating in a professional way."</p><p>At the same time his buddy was getting hired by Oskar Blues, Horn, a middle school teacher in Buncombe County, was informed he had earned gold status in a lengthy aptitude test required by BRCC and Sierra Nevada for potential job applicants to interview for the Mills River brewery, which is also working closely with BRCC to develop a full degree program. That set the stage for Horn to apply for one of six brewer positions Sierra Nevada recently posted.</p><p>Like Weber, he is doing everything he can to land a job in the industry, and has now registered for a forklifting class at BRCC. And while Horn's wife still has not found a teaching job in WNC, she may soon find herself — at least temporarily — keeping busy in another line of work.</p><p>"We've got some decisions to make," said Weber, referring to the fact that he and his wife, a pharmacist at Rite Aid, are now working. He then added with a chuckle, "Zach's wife, I think, is going to be babysitting our children a lot."</p><p>Webber and Horn are showing that doors can open when you follow your passion.</p>